Episode list

Peter takes to surrogate fatherhood happily, assisting Honor with his nephew and learning to change nappies. He helps Cynthia from the Womens' Institute prevent the local light-house from closure, which involves stemming objections from the elderly Tucker sisters. More sibling trouble occurs when he persuades the warring Smith brothers, who run rival fast food vans in opposite lay-bys to stop throwing food at, and mooning, each other and work as a team, rather than taking each other to court. He and Beatrice, along with their aunt Auriel, attend baby Daniel's christening, Beatrice and Peter acting as godparents. On their return home they receive a shock. Simon is not dead after all but waiting for them.

Peter has to hide Simon, who is shocked at the discovery that he is a father. Lyle has to strip in front of a group of naturists in solving the matter of an access path to a nudist beach which has offended some stuffy locals. Peter is drawn into a dispute at the retirement home where his aunt Auriel lives. Patricia Wright is incensed that her father, another resident, has developed a friendship with a nurse, Heather, who is young enough to be his daughter, and intends to leave everything to her when he dies. Even Peter cannot prevent the outcome of this case being less happy then he would have liked but Beatrice has even more shocking news for him. She is pregnant!

Simon is arrested and Peter feels unable to represent him as this would suggest partiality. He also refuses to respond to Simon's request that he re-mortgage his house for bail money, and puts Lyle on the case to defend Simon. In fact Simon gets bail after Lyle finds a bag stashed full of money which Simon has left in the house. The local American army base figures prominently as the pregnant Camilla gets Peter to put pressure on serviceman Brad Johnson to admit liability for her unborn baby, with love ultimately finding a way. Another, less expected, romance appears to blossom when Sidney, in protest at a new jet runway being built near his house, stages a one-man sit-in and Gloria joins him to bring him tea and refreshments.

Lyle takes up cudgels for veteran protester Henny Leach, who claims she is being victimized by the council, who are evicting her for non-payment of her council tax. Before he can help her he comes to find out that she has not told him the full truth. Simon is bailed and wants to rejoin Peter in the family firm but the Law Society prevent this. Olivia Godfrey, owner of the Tiger Lily sex shop, tries to bring a case against Peter's cricketing pal, Nigel. She paid Nigel 5,000 pounds for her sex shop to be advertised on the team's logo, but instead the side is being sponsored by Exhausts-R-Us. Nigel admits that he has been taking money from various would-be sponsors to win back his unfaithful wife, who just happens to be committing that infidelity with Simon. Peter persuades his brother to do the decent thing and let her go whilst the sponsorship debts are met by some of Simon's ill-gotten gains.

Lyle is left in charge of the office and cat-sits for Mrs. Compton, as well, in Gloria's absence on holiday with Sidney, getting himself into hot water when he and Gloria's enterprising little boy, Scott, inadvertently advertise a free will-making service and are inundated with clients. Peter has gone to Cambridge to help Professor Barkway clear up a matter. Another lecturer, biologist Mary Goodyear has died and Barkway believes her valuable research papers should be published but her partner, Janet Cramer, is blocking him, stating that Mary's will left her the papers. Peter discovers that this is a lie and Janet is protecting Mary, who killed herself as she thought her research was in vain. But Barkworth has an ulterior motive as the dead woman's effects contain love letters between her and himself, unknown to Janet. He believes this will prevent his being made Master of the college but the committee instate him anyway.

Beatrice returns to Market Shipborough with her baby daughter whom she has named Petra, though Peter himself is still a trifle hurt that Simon was chosen as Beatrice's birthing partner rather than himself. However he is occupied with Simon's upcoming trial. Lyle is about to make his theatrical debut in an open air production at Aunt Auriel's home but it is interrupted by heavy rain. A terrible storm blows up and in its aftermath it appears that Simon has drowned.